Jacob eeese



@uiten tetes datent @ffice IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-BALB TIE.

@the rlgemlenfemh tu iu tinte 5dias atent mit making and mi tilde tame.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JACOB REESE, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented-a new and useful improved Fastening for Cotton-Bale Hoops; and I do hereby decla-re the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a partof this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a metallic hoop, showing my improved m'o'de of fastening.

Figure 2 is an inner face view of the ende of the hoop, showing the same devicesV in part, Vin a different position; and

Figures 3 and et show modifications of the devices I employ, as hereinafter to be described.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts of each.

The hoops for fastening hay, cotton, or-other bales, now in ordinary use, are made with slots punched in one end of a metallic band, such slots being enlarged at or .near the middle sufficiently to admit a button-head attached to the other end of the'hoop. This enlargement of the slot necessarily weakens the hoop by the amount of metal thus taken away. The button also being riveted to the other end of the hoop, and through a single thickness thereof, is liable to be torn out under the effects of the strain caused by the outward pressure of the bale; especially as such strain acts through the button at right angles to the direction of the hoop. To obviate these evils and secure other import-ant results, I construct aiT-headed button, capable of passing through a narrow slot of uniform width, attach such button to a movable arm, pivot it with such arm to either end of a metallic hoop, and fasten such hoop bythe joint action of the movable arm, button, and slots, and therein consists the nature of my invention.

Toenabl'e others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and mode of operation. ,p v

In either end, z,'of a metallic hoop or band, I pierce slots a a in any desirable number, commonly lengthwise of the hoop, and of width equal-tothe breadth of the T-headed button c. The movable arm c I commonly make of hoop, wrought, or cast iron, or other metal ordinarily employed for such purposes, and in such away as to admit between its leaves or bifurcations c c the opposite end of the ho'op'y. Through this end 3],'and also through the leaves or bifurcations e c of the movable arm I pass the shank end of the T-headed button c, and fasten it rmly therein by riveting its shank end or otherwise. The hole through the end y of the hoop, through which the button-shank thus passes, is commonly of suiicient size to allow the button to rotate freely, when turned by the movable arin b, to which it is firmly attached. -The T-head of the button c may have any desirable direction with reference to the movable arm b, but commonly I place it, as shown in the drawings, at right angles to such arm. The mode of operation is then simple. To make the attachment, I turn the arm b till, as shown in iig. 2, the T-head of the button c Ais parallel with the direction of the slots a a. I then slip one of the slots a over the head of the button e, turn the arm b so as to bring the T-head of the but-ton c at right angles, or nearly so, to the direction of the slot a, as in fig. 1, and the fastening is complete. With the devices ordinarily in use for fastening bale hoops, as previously described, the hoop is liable to be loosened, when the cotton, hay, or other bales are packed togetheringreat ,numbers or under heavy weights. Pressure so caused is liable to compress the bale, loosen the hoop, vslide the button to the eye or broad part of the slot by which it entered, and allow the hoop to become unfastened. This danger, in my invention is wholly'obviated,

as the T-headed buttonc cannot escape from the slot a, since the movable arm Zi has no tendency to unlock.`

Commonly the head of the button c, or the longer leaf e of the movable arm b, is on the inner face of the hoop. Sometimes both are so placed, and in either case the outward pressure of the bale suices to prevent the shifting of the movable arm b, and the unlocking of the devices described.A One of the diliiculties which has, as above stated, attcndcdthe use of ,buttons for lfastening hoops, Yhasxbeen the liability of the button, when riveted to a single thickness of hoop iron, to twist or tear out under the strain caused by the outward pressure of the bale. This evil I obviat'e by the use of thc movable arm, the leaves or bifurcations e e of which strengthen the end of the hoop where the button c is attached. I sometimes vary the mode of construction-above described, to the form shown in figs. 3 and 4i;V the movable arm I) then being made so as to act as a connecting-strap, Z1, between the two ends of the hoop. In such case I pivot the connecting-strap Zito one end y of the hoop by theYpin or rivet E, but not no tight as to prevent a free motion. The button c I attach to the other end of the strap b mcs. 2

with its Thead at right angles to the direction of the slots aa. To form the connection, I swingthe connectingstrap b around on the pivot d till the T-head of the button is parallel-or nearly so with the direction of the slots a a, as indicated .by the dotted lines in iig. 4. I thon pass a slot over the head of the button c, kand let the strap b swing back under the effects of the outward pressure of the bale. As in the previous devices, the button c may project inward or outward. The strap b I commonly make in leaves, or bifurcated, or double, in the manner and for the purposes described.

What I-clam as my invention, and desire to secureby. Letters Patent, is y The combination of the Thead c and slots a a in a hoop or tie for cotton bales, with a movable arm 6, or f strap b', to which the button is attached, so constructed and arranged as that when the tie is fastened the head ofthe button shall lie across the slot, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I, the said JACOB REESE, have hereunto set myhand in presence of- JACOB REESE.

Witnesses:

ALLAN C. BAKEWELL, GEORGE H. CHRISTY. 

